Niobium

Overview

Niobium (also known as columbium) is a shiny, ductile metal primarily used in alloys. It improves the properties of steel and is often used in gas pipelines, jet engines and structural applications. Because of its corrosion resistance and ability to perform at high temperatures, niobium metal plates, rods and sheets are used in sputtering targets and chemical processing equipment. At extremely low temperatures, it becomes superconductive. Superconductive niobium wire is used to make extremely powerful electromagnets used in magnetic resonance imagery and particle accelerators.

Technical Properties

of Niobium

Niobium Metal Properties

	Melting point	Boiling point	Density	Heat of fusion	Molar heat capacity	Electrical resistivity	Magnetic ordering
Niobium	2750 K (2477 °C, 4491 °F)	5017 K (4744 °C, 8571 °F)	8.57 g/cm3	30 kJ/mol	24.60 J/(mol·K)	152 nΩ·m (at 0 °C)	paramagnetic
Molybdenum	2896 K (2623 °C, 4753 °F)	4912 K (4639 °C, 8382 °F)	10.28 g/cm3	37.48 kJ/mol	24.06 J/(mol·K)	53.4 nΩ·m (at 20 °C)	paramagnetic[4]
Titanium	1941 K (1668 °C, 3034 °F)	3560 K (3287 °C, 5949 °F)	4.506 g/cm3	14.15 kJ/mol	xx	420 nΩ·m (at 20 °C)	paramagnetic
Zirconium	2128 K (1855 °C, 3371 °F)	4650 K (4377 °C, 7911 °F)	6.52 g/cm3	14 kJ/mo	25.36 J/(mol·K)	421 nΩ·m (at 20 °C)	paramagnetic[3]
Constantan	1210 °C
Nickel	1728 K (1455 °C, 2651 °F)	3003 K (2730 °C, 4946 °F)	8.908 g/cm3	17.48 kJ/mol	26.07 J/(mol·K)	69.3 nΩ·m (at 20 °C)	ferromagnetic
Alumel	1399 °C	xx	8.61 g cm−3	xx	xx	xx	xx
Chromel	1420 °C		8.5 g cm−3		xx	0.706 µΩ m	xx
Invar 36	1427°C, 2600°F	xx	8055g cm 0.291	xx	xx	495 ohm-cir mil/ft	xx
Rhenium	3459 K (3186 °C, 5767 °F)	5903 K (5630 °C, 10,170 °F)	21.02 g/cm3	60.43 kJ/mol	25.48 J/(mol·K)	193 nΩ·m (at 20 °C)	paramagnetic[2]
Tantalum	3290 K (3017 °C, 5463 °F)	5731 K (5458 °C, 9856 °F)	16.69 g/cm3	36.57 kJ/mol	25.36 J/(mol·K)	131 nΩ·m (at 20 °C)	paramagnetic[3]
Tungsten	3695 K (3422 °C, 6192 °F)	6203 K (5930 °C, 10706 °F)	19.3 g/cm3	52.31 kJ/mol[3][4]	24.27 J/(mol·K)	52.8 nΩ·m (at 20 °C	paramagnetic[5]
Kovar	1450 °C / 2640 °F		8.35 g /cm30			0.49 Ω mm2 /cm
MuMetal	2642°F [1450°C]	xx	0.316 lb/in³ [8.74g/cm³]	xx	xx	60 μΩcm	xx